"Furin"
- garden bell / wind chime -

Furin, a garden bell made of iron or glass, has been traditionally one
of the typical things Japanese in summer. When swung in the breeze, it
delivers a pleasant sound most of us Japanese love and enjoy very much.
These days, furin are not always welcomed because of the dense urban housing
conditions in Japan, but the distinctive sound still symbolizes summer,
and during the hot humid season signifies a breeze.

As you see on our website, all of our garden bell items are made of iron called gNanbu-tekkih. Different from other materials such as glass or ceramicware, the sound of Nanbu-tekki garden bell is elegant and deep. It has a long history of more than 900 years, and it has been influenced very much by the Zen spirit of Buddhism. In this way, some of the Nanbu-tekki garden bell have been made in the shape of temples, its bell and creatures of Buddhism.
Since Nanbu-tekki garden bell is manufactured only in the very restricted area called Nanbu District located in the present Iwate prefecture, it is still facing the very difficult situation.
As you might know, Japan has experienced a huge disaster, the Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. Iwate was actually the second-worst
damaged prefecture by the disaster, with 6,078 dead and missing. The number
of the garden bell manufacturers has decreased to almost half of that in
2010.
Honestly speaking, our past manufacturer has been severely damaged and
bankrupted due to the disaster, and we are now looking for a new manufacturer.

Click on a picture to enlarge!

FU-101

FU-102

FU-103

FU-104

Wind chime

"Sanjuso"Trio

"Toro"Lantern

"Tsurube"Well bucket

500 Yen

3,300 Yen

2,600 Yen

2,700 Yen

material: iron
width: 40mm (1.57")

material: iron
width: 100mm (3.94")

material: iron
width: 95mm (3.74")

material: iron
width: 120mm (4.72")

FU-105

FU-106

FU-107

FU-108

"Odo"Small temple

"Ayame"Iris

"Odo-toro"Temple-shaped lantern

"Azekura"Traditional style

3,000 Yen

3,300 Yen

3,800 Yen

3,500 Yen

material: iron
width: 100mm (3.94")

material: iron
width: 115mm (4.53")

material: iron
width: 105mm (4.13")

material: iron
width: 90mm (3.54")

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below and enter the site again from the entrance.http://www.zen-shop.net